It isn’t often I write blog posts on back-to-back days, but I couldn’t resist after Publish2 revealed its newest project at TechCrunch Disrupt on Monday in New York City.
The project is called P2X. Or, in longer form, the Publish2 News Exchange. Its goal? “Craigslist” the Associated Press.
The idea behind P2X is to allow news and blogging organizations to easily and efficiently share and distribute content among multiple platforms. Instead of using the Associated Press for wire content, newspapers can use the News Exchange as an alternative to find content from other newspapers and even blogs — for a much cheaper price, if any. Publish2 founder Scott Karp introduced the project Monday (video), and it became a finalist in the Disrupt conference’s Startup Battlefield competition.
The more I think about it, the more intrigued I am about this development. Why? Not necessarily because of how much money it could save news companies (although that’d be a huge plus, if P2X can develop a thriving web of news organizations and blogs). Instead, I’m thinking about how much more efficient content sharing can be between news organizations, and how much more vibrant their products can be because of that.
I talked about my love for newspapers in an earlier post, and that I’m also well aware of their future (or lack thereof). But Karp realizes the reality of the news industry right now — print is still a staple in most communities and newsrooms. And even now, Publish2 knows it has to support the print operation while it lasts. (I love how Karp put it during his presentation, when asked how relevant his new service will be when news orgs start going online only: “(We’re) creating that strong relationship now by helping them with their business today.” It’s marketing 101.)
So how would P2X benefit newspapers over AP in terms of content? I like how Jay Rosen put it on Twitter: It’s an extension to print of “Do what you do best, and link to the rest.” The AP is a collective of more than 1,500 news publications producing content, but every story through the wire goes through one identity — the AP. To me, P2X is giving newspapers the opportunity to refresh its content curation (particularly for Sunday editions, which tend to feature a lot of syndicated content) and enforce their brand by taking away the middle man. Furthermore, it opens the door for content from blogs such as TechCrunch to make it to print, which is an excellent idea because, contrary to the old-media belief, blogs can provide high-quality content!
Like I said, this development especially benefits the Sunday newspaper, which many news organizations use to curate Associated Press stories. The Grand Rapids Press is one of them. P2X can refresh those pages. There is a lot more value to stories in the paper when they are curated from a wide variety of sources and respected brands. Furthermore, newspapers can use this opportunity to link their print product with their online product. How? Curate stories in your print product and tell your readers to go online and find out what else you’re reading. Like what you’re reading in the paper? See what else we’re reading online, in real time. Do what you do best — report local news, localize national news and provide commentary — and link to the rest.
There are still a number of questions to address with P2X as it gets started, however. I thought William P. Davis brought a good one up on Twitter: What about the weather and sports agate? A great part of the AP’s value is providing this sort of specialized content for news organizations. Can P2X provide a consistent, efficient alternative to those? Furthermore, it’s going to be interesting to see how many newspapers and blogs subscribe to this network over time, and how many of them are going to really take advantage of it. How many entities will charge for content use, and how widespread will they share their content? How many of them will actually drop the AP in favor of P2X over the next year? Two years? Five?
Answers to some of those may come with time, but questions are important to bring up if P2X is going to be successful in disrupting the AP which, despite its flaws, is the largest news organization in the world. I’m fully rooting for P2X, however. It’s a simple, but excellent idea at the core, and it provides news companies a way to easily organize its wire content, share its own and build a brand online among news providers. Oh, and it’s a much cheaper operation for all parties involved.
More links related to the P2X announcement and TC Disrupt:
- Karp explains the business model behind P2X after it was named one of the three finalists at TechCrunch Disrupt (go to about the 8:50 mark).
- “AP ripe for disruption by Web platform,” by Jack Lail, an adviser of Publish2.
- Follow TC Disrupt on Twitter by searching the hashtag #TCDisrupt.
Posted by Brian Manzullo at May 25, 2010
Journalism